SEATTLE and SOUTHLAKE, Texas, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines announced today an upgrade in its connectivity level to the Sabre (NYSE: TSG) Global Distribution System (GDS), enabling travel agencies using the Sabre system to view seat maps in real-time and receive other benefits such as interactive bookings and instant confirmation.

The Direct Connect Sell (DCS) connectivity level facilitates use by Sabre Connected travel agencies of interactive seat maps and pre-reserved seats. Travel agents can now view open seats on any Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air flight and request specific seat assignments.

"The ability to assign specific seats provides a direct benefit to Sabre Connected agencies," said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska Airlines' executive vice president of marketing and planning. "It helps travel agents provide even better service to their customers and eliminates the need for a phone call to Alaska reservations."

DCS also gives "Claim It" functionality to Sabre agencies. This allows agents to claim and ticket a reservation generated by Alaska or Horizon without creating a passive booking or calling the airline.

"By increasing its connectivity level, Alaska Airlines will enhance its customer service and gain greater control of its inventory management," said Eric Speck, chief marketing officer for Sabre. "Through DCS, carriers are able to generate interactive bookings while providing instant confirmation and showing the decrease of inventory at the time of sale."

Agents will see a "DC" indicator in their availability displays, indicating the upgraded connectivity to Alaska and Horizon.

About Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air

The nation's ninth largest carrier, Alaska celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. The carrier was recently ranked No. 1 in the annual Airline Quality Ratings compiled by Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. And readers of Travel+Leisure magazine named Alaska the "World's Best Domestic Airline." Alaska's regional partner, Horizon Air was founded 20 years ago and has grown to become the nation's tenth largest regional airline, serving nearly five million passengers last year. Together Alaska and Horizon serve 80 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com or the Horizon Air Newsroom at http://newsroom.horizonair.com .

About Sabre Holdings Corporation

Sabre is the leading provider of technology, distribution and marketing services for the travel industry. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the company has approximately 7,000 employees in 45 countries. Sabre reported 2001 revenues of $2.1 billion. Sabre owns Travelocity.com, the most popular travel site on the web, and GetThere, the world's leading provider of Web-based travel reservation systems for corporations and travel suppliers. Sabre is an S&P 500 company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TSG). More information about Sabre is available at www.sabre.com .

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SOURCE Sabre; Alaska Airlines

-0- 07/25/2002

/CONTACT: Jack Walsh of Alaska Airlines, +1-206-901-8753; or Dawn M. Dorman of Sabre, Inc., +1-682-605-2246/

/Web site: http://newsroom.horizonair.com

http://newsroom.alaskaair.com